21

Today she is 21...Dear God, how did this happen??? I can quite easily recall the newborn baby we brought home from the hospital, that neither of us knew what to do with and thru nothing short of countless miracles managed to not kill in the first week alone. What a burden she has carried being the first born, being blessed with clueless parents, and numerous siblings over the years, and yet she has survived. I have often wondered "how" she survived, I've been known to mutter "if you would have only come with a book, I think I could have figured out this parenting thing" alas no book, just a very strong desire to protect and care for her from day one, loving her came as natural as breathing. Today she is a confidant, strong, honest, caring, young adult. She is focused and easy going, she has a good heart and a great head on her shoulders, in a word she is simply amazing. Much has changed in these 21 years, she has tested us on occasion, we have challenged her. We have disagreed and agreed. She has taught us to relax, I pray we have taught her enough, and as she has grown so have we becoming more than we ever thought possible...Is she the daughter I imagined when I held her that first time, no...She is so much more than that, there is no way I could have imagined that she would turn into this wonderful, caring, amazing person, we truly have been blessed. So Happy Birthday Beckie, you have been a remarkable gift to us over the years. May your day be full of fun and laughter, and may you always know how truly special you are to us.
Change occurs whether your ready for it or not, this birthday brings a change I'm not sure I'm ready for, it will be the first time we won't be sharing the day with Beckie, she is at college already and so my birthday wishes will be in the form of phone calls and internet, it is a bit odd to not be able to hug and give her birthday wishes in person, she of course is handling it much better than I, ( I really stink at this whole letting go thing) and so again I learn from her.
enjoy your day...
always, Debbie